RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) More than 200 people, gathering, walking, talking, sharing artwork, in solidarity with the 5th and 6th grade artists whose 31-large art panels will be evicted Monday from the grassy median on the famous Monument Avenue.
The controversy: the city mistakenly gave Art 180 a permit for these 31 self-portraits painted by at-risk students expressing their world views.
They violate a city code against any kind of signage on median strips.
They’ve already been up a week, and got an Easter reprieve, thanks to Venture Richmond, which puts on the Easter on Parade.
There’s no doubt the city’s mistake has dramatically increased the number of people viewing the art since the word spread that it had to come down.
Michael Guedri, program and volunteer coordinator for Art 180, is hoping that interest has staying power.
“My hope is that all the people that jumped on the to this cause and became really interested in the press this is getting the last few days decide to offer a little bit of their time to our program,” Guedri said.
“We’ve been providing after-school art programs and trying to share young artists with the community for years. So this unprecedented attention can really be turned into something great.”
